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Rubbermaid

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Rubbermaid has won several awards for their marketing innovations. The company is well-known for its synthetic rubber materials and the application of those materials to develop innovative products that has led to the creation of profitable products. The case mentions three innovative and unique products developed by Rubbermaid. The director of product management had stated that consumers had been requesting for help in organizing the garages and suggested that storing tools efficiently was the number one complaint by homeowners about garages. So, the first product discussed was the Tool Tower, which was a plastic rack designed to hold long and short handle tools in one place. It was easy to assemble and required little space. Customers loved it! The next product discussed was the High-Heat Scraper, which came to be when a Rubbermaid business team noticed that chefs preferred synthetic rubber scrappers instead of metal spatulas when using nonstick cookware. Rubbermaid took the initiative and developed a new scraper of pliable synthetic rubber. The product was perfect and could sustain temperatures to up to 500 degrees. The last innovative idea the case discusses is the Hardware Blue. Rubbermaid came to know that there was an increase in tool boxes and workshop organizer purchases and wanted to test how women shoppers would react to different colors. With the utilization of focus groups, Rubbermaid discovered a new color. Hardware Blue outsold all other colors and appealed to both men and women. The case demonstrates that Rubbermaid met customer needs and generated sales with the use of low-tech innovations. As the Rubbermaid example demonstrates that innovation can take many forms. Rubbermaid was not only concerned with technologically based innovations but also with marketing innovations. Rubbermaid was constantly in touch with their customer-base and knew what

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